[SatNews] Future war fighting communication needs must be analyzed
and assessed prior to implementation, and that requires expertise.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) has been awarded a $1.5 million study contract by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's MILSATCOM Systems Directorate to evaluate options available to meet future war fighting communications needs. SS/L will study how commercial technologies and best practices can fulfill military communications mission needs cost effectively while exceeding mission assurance requirements. In 2010, the on-orbit fleet of approximately 60 SS/L-built geostationary satellites delivered better than 99.999 percent availability to its demanding commercial customers whose business cases depend on satellite reliability. The U.S. Air Force can also benefit from SS/L's experience building two of the world's highest capacity broadband satellites, each of which offers more than 100 gigabits per second throughput. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center stated that the goal of the study is to assess the application of innovative and feasible commercial-like acquisition approaches to enhance affordability, reduce delivery time, and expand the space industrial base.